Freedom

Freedom. 

That's what we celebrate on Independence Day, July 4th, isn't it?

But what is freedom?

Independence from rule by the British Empire, to be "free" from them, was the ostensive reason for the rebellion which resulted in a change of status from thirteen British colonies to thirteen independent states held together in a loose confederation. Looking back from our vantage point 200 plus years after the fact, we tend to view the British as the "bad guys" and the colonists as the heroes of the story. The English were the "other" in opposition to "us". But the truth was that "they" were "us". The colonists viewed themselves, and were viewed by those in the homeland of Great Britain, as every bit as English as someone living in London. Sure, a colonial landowner was viewed as having lower status than a landowner back home, but likely had a higher social standing than a poor tenant farmer or city dweller in England. So it wasn't a case of some foreign empire trodding on "the people". So what was it that they wanted to be free of?

Keep in mind that things were run, in the colonies and in Great Britain itself, by wealthy, male, landowners. Women had no rights, had no recognized position in society. While the hereditary aristocracy based on titled nobility had not taken root in North America, the people in power were every much a ruling caste as the dukes and barons overseas. And of course the concept of "whiteness" was in full flower. Anyone not considered "white" was viewed as lower than low. The native populations of Africa and the Americas were considered uncivilized savages and unworthy of inclusion in society. For as far back as the dawn of recorded history weaker peoples were conquered and sometimes annihilated or enslaved. Kingdoms and empires absorbed smaller, less powerful kingdoms. Look at a map of any area from a thousand years ago and you'll often find completely different people resident there. The European conquest of the Americas was no more a case of "stolen" land than the Danes and the Normans conquering Great Britain - overthrowing the Saxons who had previously displaced the Britons - was stolen land. The difference was that the descendents of the conquered people were still viewed as savages who needed to either be exterminated or assimilated, and had no rights as citizens. The descendents of enslaved people were still enslaved - and even when "freed" were denied rights that so-called white people enjoyed. 

So free to do what?

The white, male landowners were "free" to run things as they chose, "free" from the interference of a faraway government, "free" to dominate a new, closer-to-home government, and in the case of Southern landowners, "free" to continue to base the economy on slavery, which was in the process of being outlawed by the British Parliament. Things weren't much different before and after. 

Fast forward 247 years:

Things are still less "free" than we hoped that they would be, but there has been progress. A truism that often gets rolled out around certain holidays is that we "owe" our freedom to the military. It's certainly true that a strong military serves as a bulwark against foreign invasion, but I would argue that it does more to keep us secure and safe, than free, unless you're imagining us being invaded & turned into a communist dictatorship without the military to protect us. In my lifetime the military has been used more to secure our national interests than to keep us safe or free. If not the military, than what has secured our freedom?

The oligarchs who wrote the Constitution were no fans of democracy. While there were democratic aspects to the governmental framework that they created with the Constitution, they clearly did not trust "the people" to make "correct" decisions. The Electoral College, the indirect (originally) election of Senators, and other elements were clearly undemocratic. But the framework, along with the original amendments, the Bill of Rights, contained the seeds of the destruction of the original order. The first opening for a change in who was free is easy to miss, but it's out there in plain sight: it's very nonspecific. I've used the term "framework" quite a bit, but that's all the Constitution is. It's amazingly vague, leaving it up to future legislatures and executives to write and enforce laws. This seeming loophole allowed future governments to change the way things were done. Whether intentional or not, it made it possible for the way things were to change as people changed. The second opening for change is easier to see: the ability to amend. Almost immediately ten amendments were added to the Constitution, guaranteeing freedom of speech, religion, assembly (just in the first!), due process, and others. Later amendments eliminated 3/5 compromise, guaranteed equal protection, outlawed slavery, provided for birthright citizenship, and extended the right to vote to women. 

Americans who had a vision for greater freedom for all took advantage of the mutability of the Constitution along with its amendments and began to agitate for change.

If you want to thank some segment of society for our freedom, include he military by all means, but thank all those who used the right of free speech to push for change, used the right of freedom of assembly to protest injustice, who insisted upon the legal right to equal protection under the law for everybody to be treated equally. Thank the union members who pushed for safe workplaces and fair pay, while you're at it, thank them for weekends and this holiday! Thank the people in the civil rights movement for forcing our government to live up the promises of freedom and equality and endured fire hoses, dogs and beatings to make it happen. Thank teachers who educated us and our children on what our rights and freedoms are. Thank pro bono lawyers who represented those who were harassed and arrested for demanding what the law already promised. Thank LGBTQ activists whose very existence was illegal, but pushed and pushed and pushed to be recognized as people deserving of respect. 

We're in a phase of our nation where hard-earned freedom is being peeled away because the doctrine of originalism. Those who adhere to this judicial philosophy, whether through sincere belief in its correctness, or as a way to justify their bigotry, are taking us back little by little to a time when there were precious little freedom. Take a minute this Independence Day to consider how you can help get us back on the path to freedom.